FA COMMUNITY SHIELD PREVIEW: BOTH PALACE AND LIVERPOOL LOOK FOR STRONG STARTS TO 2025, BUT WHO NEEDS THIS GAME MORE?

With big seasons coming for both Liverpool and Crystal Palace, this year’s Community Shield suddenly gains significant meaning for both clubs in contention. Can Liverpool kickstart the second year of the Arne Slot era in style, or will Crystal Palace set themselves up well for their first-ever European campaign?

(Image Credir to AP/Jon Super)

The 2025 FA Community Shield is fast-approaching, with the annual pre-season matchup between the Premier League and FA Cup winners set to be played this Sunday, August 10th. 

This year’s matchup is set to be played between Liverpool and Crystal Palace. 

Liverpool, who won the Premier League last season and enter as favourites to win the Community Shield according to FanDuel, will be making their first appearance in the annual competition since 2022, when they beat Manchester City 3-1. 

Crystal Palace, who beat Manchester City in last season’s FA Cup Final by a 1-0 scoreline, will enjoy their first appearance in the game. 

For Liverpool, this is set to be the first opportunity for Arne Slot to get his club’s new signings going and to test out lineup combinations ahead of the new season. While Trent Alexander-Arnold was among the few departures, the Reds bolstered the attack by adding attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz and striker Hugo Ekitike. They also filled the hole left by Alexander-Arnold by adding left-back/left-wingback/left midfielder Milos Kerkez and right back Jeremie Frimpong.

For Palace, it was more of a nervy offseason. While they didn’t lose any major lineup pieces as of this writing, they are appealing a previous decision to drop them from the Europa League to the Conference League, coming as a result of multi-club ownership charges. With the ruling set to come on Monday, there is a small chance the waiting game for the decision could impact the team’s mindset coming into this game. 

But with the likes of Eberechi Eze, who scored the winning goal in the FA Cup Final for Crystal Palace, and Jean-Philippe Mateta set to crack Oliver Glasner’s starting lineup for the Community Shield, there is a chance that the Eagles can break through Liverpool’s back line and score at least once. And goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who saved a penalty in the FA Cup Final, should be able to keep his team in the game. 

While I do see Palace being competitive in this fixture, Arne Slot and Co. will have far more weapons at their disposal. Both teams will score, but I think it will be Liverpool’s reinforced attack that gets the job done, clinching the Reds’ first title of the season.

The pick: Liverpool 3, Crystal Palace 2

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Article written by Noah Guttman